Keenan wonders: What if?

Sunshine arrives for day two

CASS LAKE, Minn. – Chevy pro Tom Keenan successfully caught the longest walleye of his entire life on day one of the Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour event on Cass Lake. So why is he so frustrated? That’s because the monster fish never made it to the scale.

According to the rules, tournament anglers are allowed to keep only two fish over 20 inches. Culling isn’t permitted, but anglers are allowed to keep eight in the box and weigh their best five.

Keenan already had his two overs in the livewell when the giant walleye bit at 3:05 p.m. One of his two overs was 22 inches long and the other was 24 inches long. At the time, the Hatley, Wis., pro was fishing his small-fish spot – trying to upgrade his unders. He said stumbling upon a fish that big was a complete fluke.

The walleye measured exactly 32 inches long and weighed 10 pounds. After catching it, Keenan laid it on the deck of his boat in amazement. After seeing it was longer than the Chevy decals on his deck carpeting, he had to put a tape measure to it.

It was by far the biggest fish of the entire opening day yesterday. Had Keenan thrown back the 22-inch fish earlier in the day and kept the 32-inch fish he would easily be winning the tournament. In fact, he would have a total weight of roughly 19 pounds – a 2-pound lead over current pro leader Tony Renner.

“Usually God rewards good people,” said Keenan, the 2006 Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year. “It tore my heart out. It literally killed me. When I let it go my co-angler almost cried. But I almost cried too.”

This is the difficult dynamic of a no-cull slot tournament. Keenan caught the heaviest fish among the 124 pros, but made the wrong decision at the wrong time. This is why anglers talk incessantly about getting their fish in the right order. Still, the 2003 FLW Walleye Tour Championship winner is in seventh place with 13 pounds, 10 ounces.

Day two began under cloudy skies, but the sun quickly made an appearance around 8 a.m. The second day of competition should be more enjoyable, but the fishing might not be as good. The sunshine and subsequent light penetration could squelch a hot shallow-water bite.

Anglers will weigh their catches beginning at 3 p.m. Central time at Stony Point Resort in Cass Lake. The full field competes during the three-day opening round for one of 10 final-round slots based on their three-day accumulated weight. Weights carry over to day four, with the winner determined by the heaviest four-day weight.

Thursday’s conditions

Sunrise: 5:22 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees

Expected high temperature: 68 degrees

Water temperature: 56-60 degrees

Wind: SW at 14 mph

Maximum humidity: 57 percent

Day’s outlook: isolated thunderstorms